A new twist on silk
Cosetex, a family-owned silk specialist based in the Como region of Italy, has turned its attention to making the most of silk, particularly materials not used in standard silk textile processing. This brought Silvio Mandelli, Cosetex CEO and director of the T.Silk Project to “explore new ways to use silk,” as he told Sportstextiles. The company main product is natural silk in staple fibre form, extracted from cocoons that cannot be used to make conventional long filament silk yarns.
But Mr Mandelli sees more possibilities in the natural fibre: “Silk is very special and has many useful properties”. Some of the novel applications explored by Cosetex include denim (with Italian mill Pure Denim) and padding. Silk’s advanced thermoregulating properties make it an idea fibre for insulation, said Mr Mandelli. “These characteristics are due to the function of the cocoon itself which is to protect larva from temperature variations during their growth.” The pupa need warmth, breathability, protection, thermoregulation, which sums up the properties of pure silk insulation.
Cosetex recently presented g_silk, a new range combining the luxury natural fibre with recycled graphite, a project co-developed with Alisea, a B Corp-certified company specializing in the recovery and reuse of graphite. The graphite is used to dye a silk satin fabric which gives it an iridescent grey colouring and enhances its ability to thermoregulate, as well as protect from bacteria and UV rays.
The company has tested the performance properties of silk in running wear and developed a special top, the T.Silkrunner, which is knitted with an exceptionally smooth silk yarn engineered to minimise friction with the skin.
Mr Mandelli is also investigating the possibility of using fibroin, one of the natural proteins that compose silk, as a waterproof finish for textiles. “My goal is always to use the natural characteristics of silk,” he said.
Image courtesy of Cosetex
